Death of Charles J. Bishop in the 2002 Tampa Cessna 172 Crash

On January 5, 2002, Charles J. Bishop, a 15-year-old high-school student at East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida, was left briefly alone in a Cessna 172 by his flight instructor while he was supposed to be conducting a preflight inspection. Instead, Bishop started the engine and took off without permission. Air traffic controllers alerted the United States Coast Guard and MacDill Air Force Base, and a Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched to intercept the aircraft. Despite repeated warnings, Bishop continued flying until he crashed the plane into the side of the Bank of America Tower in downtown Tampa, striking the building between the 28th and 29th floors of the 42-story structure. Bishop was killed in the crash; an office was damaged, but no one else was injured.

Investigators recovered a suicide note from the wreckage in which Bishop praised Osama bin Laden and the September 11 attacks, described them as a justified response to U.S. actions regarding the Palestinians and Iraqis, and claimed he was acting on behalf of Al Qaeda after declining offers of assistance from the group. Eyewitnesses reported that the aircraft made no apparent attempt to avoid the building. Despite the note's content, officials found no evidence connecting Bishop to any terrorist organization and ruled out terrorism as a motive, concluding instead that the crash was an apparent suicide. Authorities confiscated a computer from Bishop's parents' home as part of the effort to determine a motive. Moments after the crash, President George W. Bush was briefly informed of the incident along with two unrelated crashes that occurred the same day.

In April 2002, transcripts obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration revealed additional details, including how closely the small aircraft had come to a Southwest Airlines flight during the incident.

Bishop's mother subsequently filed a $70 million lawsuit against Roche Laboratories, the manufacturer of the acne medication isotretinoin (sold as Accutane), which Bishop had been using. The lawsuit alleged that side effects of the medication, including depression and suicidal actions, caused the incident. The suit was dropped on June 26, 2007, when Bishop's mother stated she was physically and emotionally unable to continue the litigation.

In the aftermath, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a security notice on January 6, 2002, the day after the crash, addressing aircraft security and regulations concerning underage flight students. The Experimental Aircraft Association and other small-aircraft organizations proposed additional security measures for flight schools. Authorities characterized the incident as an "abuse of trust" rather than a security breach, though others argued the case demonstrated a need for increased security given the apparent ease with which the incident occurred.